Busy stewards penalize Trulli, Vettel

Toyota's strong start to the 2009 season -- Jarno Trulli climbing to the
podium from a pit-lane start -- stalled when the Italian was penalized
for passing Lewis Hamilton's McLaren Mercedes while behind the safety
car. And Sebastian Vettel's ...

Toyota's strong start to the 2009 season -- Jarno Trulli climbing to the
podium from a pit-lane start -- stalled when the Italian was penalized
for passing Lewis Hamilton's McLaren Mercedes while behind the safety
car. And Sebastian Vettel's smashing debut with Red Bull -- he spent the
first 55 of 58 laps hot on the heels of Brawn GP winner Jenson Button --
went literal when he crashed out BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica to land a
10-spot grid penalty for next Sunday's race in Malaysia.

Trulli drove wide at the penultimate turn during the final safety-car
period, unable to stay on track with cold tires, and Hamilton could not
avoid passing the Toyota. The McLaren team instructed Hamilton over the
radio to let Trulli retake his position, which the world champion did.

"(Hamilton) passed me but soon after he suddenly slowed down and pulled
over to the side of the road," Trulli said. "I thought he had a problem,
so I overtook him as there was nothing else I could do."

Toyota team principal Tadashi Yamashina confirmed the team is appealing
the stewards' decision.

"I was lucky, but we have a fantastic car," Trulli said after podium
celebrations, before his luck changed.

Vettel's troubles stemmed from tire considerations -- a big factor now
that Bridgestone's two race compounds are purposely diverse -- as well as
track conditions in which shadows harbored cooler temperatures. Vettel
slowed as Kubica overhauled him. The cars "touched, crashed and retired,"
as the BMW Sauber press officer succinctly put it.

"What a disappointment!" Kubica said. "I had a chance to win this race
because Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel were on soft tires and
struggling, while I was on the harder compound and was able to drive much
quicker. Sebastian went wide in Corner 1 and then he braked early. I was
already in front, but he didn't want to let me by. Then he had a lot
of understeer and touched me. My front wing was under the car, therefore,
I crashed in Corner 5.

"I think Sebastian was a bit too optimistic. Had this been the last
corner, OK, but there were still three laps to go, and he really had no
realistic chance to defend his position because I was so much quicker. We
both had a great weekend up to this point and we leave Melbourne with
nothing."

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing, talks with the media after the race.

Photo by xpb.cc.

Vettel was quick to take blame and apologize to his team, which stood to
bag its highest finish if Vettel could improve on the team's third place
scored by David Coulthard in Monaco in 2006.

"We were in second and a strong position, but then, a couple of laps from
the end, I had a stupid racing accident with Robert," Vettel said.
"At the time I turned in I was ahead, but I couldn't keep up speed in
the corner and Robert was on a harder tire, so was much quicker. At the
time we collided he was in front, but I had nowhere to go. I couldn't
stop the car or turn to the right, and my tires were gone.

"Maybe I should have said let him go and bring third back home, but
that's life. I tried to defend and, up to the midcorner, I had reason,
but then I had no grip to avoid a collision. I'm sorry to the team and
also to Robert, as it didn't just mean the end of my race but also
his."

Both cars continued after collision, both finally hitting the outside
wall. Kubica was stopped when the F1.09 lost two wheels, which went
bouncing along the track. Vettel drove on, his left front wheel tethered
to the car and resting on its bodywork. Stewards fined the Red Bull team
$50,000 for Vettel driving a damaged car.